Cairo - The National Reading Programme, affiliated to the Emirate's Research Science Institute, is set to host the final qualifiers to identify the victors of the third season of the competition from across Egypt. A total of forty winners will be selected to partake in the initial three dimensions of the project, while five institutions will participate in the fourth dimension.  This prestigious event is being held under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, in alignment with the vision of the Ministries of Higher Education, Culture, Social Solidarity, Youth, and Sports. The decision to organize these qualifiers follows the remarkable success witnessed in the previous two rounds, with the aim to disseminate the notion of sustainable knowledge among all segments of society and bolster Egypt's cultural eminence in accordance with the 2030 Vision.

The final qualifiers for the programme will witness the participation of 881 competitors and will span three consecutive days from 6 to 8 August at Al-Massa Hotel in the New Administrative Capital, where anticipation and enthusiasm will be evident amongst participants hailing from various governorates. Twenty winners will be selected in the Intellectual Student dimension (students of Al-Azhar schools and institutes), 10 winners in the Diamond Reader dimension (university students), and 10 winners in the Intellectual Teacher dimension (teachers of pre-university education), in addition to five institutions in the Enlightenment Institution dimension.

Hisham al-Sangary, Director of Educational Projects at the Scientific Research Foundation, Egypt, and North Africa Branch, said: “It brings us immense joy to persist in our noble mission of fostering a culture of reading among the students of Al-Azhar schools, institutes, universities, and teachers. This unwavering commitment aims to ensure the sustenance of knowledge across all echelons of society for the third consecutive year. Our relentless efforts have been geared towards nurturing a profound appreciation for the acquisition and application of knowledge, thereby rekindling the significance of reading in the hearts and minds of both academic scholars and educators."

The top-ranking participants from the initial three dimensions, along with the five winning institutions from the fourth dimension, will be revealed during the closing ceremony of the third round of the project. Furthermore, the date for the commencement of the new season will also be announced during this event.

The National Reading Programme kicked off in March 2020 with the aim of developing awareness of the importance of reading and supporting the generations’ national and human values by making it a priority for all the categories of the society to achieve a renaissance in reading. Through a 10-year project, the programme targets offering sustainable model cultural projects that help enrich libraries, enhance the produced content and hence enrich the cultural environment, which aligns with Egypt’s 2030 Vision.

The National Reading Programme encompasses 4 main pillars: school students’ reading competition for the “Intellectual Student” title, university students’ reading competition for the “Diamond Reader” title, teachers’ reading competition for the “Intellectual Teacher” title, and a special competition between community institutions for the “Enlightening Institution”. Among the criteria set for the competition is reading 30 books in any of the various fields of knowledge, before summarizing them. For the “Intellectual Student” participants, the summary should be posted on the two blogs of achievement, while the “Diamond Reader” and “Intellectual Teacher” participants should post their output on the programme’s website.

The total financial value of the awards obtained by all winners is estimated at EGP 20 million for all of the four dimensions of the competition, where winners of the first dimension are set to receive EGP 50,000 up to EGP one million in addition to the Intellectual Student Cup. Winners of the second dimension will receive awards starting from EGP 100,000 and up to EGP one million, in addition to the Intellectual Teacher’s Cup. The third-dimension award is estimated at EGP 100,000, reaching up to EGP one million, in addition to the Diamond Reader Cup for the first winner. Moreover, cultural trips are organized for the top three winners in each of the first three dimensions. The awards for the fourth dimension start from EGP 100,000, reaching to EGP one million for the institution that won the first place, in addition to the Enlightenment Institution Cup. Coordinators and the jury, of whom one of their students had won any of the top ten ranks, will receive 10 percent of the financial value of the award, in addition to a certificate of appreciation for their efforts.

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About National Reading Programme:

It’s a sustainable competing project that aims at encouraging Egyptian kids and youths to embrace critical creative functional reading, enabling them to acquire, apply and produce new knowledge towards a community that learns, thinks and innovates. The programme also targets thriving with Arabic language. NRP is sponsored by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Higher Education, the Ministry of Culture, Egyptian Knowledge Bank and Al Azhar Al Sharif.

About Emirate's Research Science Institute

It is a cultural educational institution that invests in developing generations through innovative evidence-based programs. Since its inception in 1998, the institute has prioritized encouraging reading supported by decades of hands-on experience in establishing standards, planning, organizing, coordinating, training and judging. Building on its esteemed expertise in the management of such projects, Research Science Institute strives to enrich national reading programs and educational projects.